As migration to the cloud continues, so does the demand for appropriate security solutions. For more than 20 years, the Fraunhofer Institute for Experimental Software Engineering IESE has stood for IT security and data sovereignty for digital ecosystems. In cooperation with the University of Applied Sciences in Worms, the learning lab “Secure Cloud Computing” has now been launched, which not only offers comprehensive know-how for cloud DevOps, cloud users and middle management of cloud solution providers. It also features a unique combination of learning opportunities, cloud infrastructure, and defense and attack labs.

Dynamic cloud infrastructures are essential for companies to respond to an ever-changing market and growing competition. However, cybercriminals are exploiting the vulnerabilities. The consequences for affected organizations are enormous: as a bitkom study shows, the costs of cyber attacks for German companies recently amounted to 223.5 billion euros per year. What these companies need is a secure cloud infrastructure that reliably protects them against attacks, as well as the corresponding expertise for the IT experts that they need for prevention and acute attacks.

The signing of the cooperation agreement between Fraunhofer IESE and the University of Applied Sciences in Worms resulted in the creation of a comprehensive infrastructure that enables research on the topic of secure clouds and provides comprehensive services and measures regarding cloud security for companies – ranging from performing penetration tests via the evaluation of cloud security measures to access to the Fraunhofer laboratory environment.

At the same time, the consortium offers application-oriented further training in an innovative learning environment that optimally prepares IT managers for current and future challenges and equips them to deal with legal regulations such as NIS-2.

Prof. Dr. Hans Rück, Vice President of the University of Applied Sciences in Worms, says: “The topics of secure cloud and data sovereignty are essential to making Germany a future-proof location for science and business. With our learning lab, we also want to increasingly position our institute as a research university, inspire students to do research in this area, and pave the way for young experts in the region.”

Denis Feth, Department Head “Security Engineering” at Fraunhofer IESE, adds: “Our learning lab addresses, among other things, agriculture and finance – but we also consider other application areas and always strive for collaborations with institutes and universities of other learning labs as well as with partners from our networks.”

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